Shoukhrat Mitalipov, PhD, whose Nature paper on successful human gene editing has garnered worldwide attention, will present on this first US achievement in the "Breaking News Lecture" portion of the FRM 2017 conference in New York City in November.

NEW YORK, NY, August 04, 2017 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Shoukhrat Mitalipov, PhD, Professor and Director of the Center for Embryonic Cell and Gene Therapy at the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, Oregon, will on November 17, 2017, in New York City give the Breaking News Lecture, "Gene correction in human gametes and embryos for the prevention of heritable diseases?" at the annual Translational Reproductive Biology and Clinical Reproductive Endocrinology Conference of the Foundation for Reproductive Medicine. Dr. Mitalipov just published to worldwide attention in the media a paper in Nature that described the first successful therapeutic genetic editing of human embryos afflicted by a single gene mutation that causes an inherited form of cardiomyopathy.

Dr. Mitalipov's team used a gene editing tool called CRISPR-Cas9 to correct the genetic error at the 1-cell stage of the embryo by injecting CRISPR-Cas9, literally at the time of fertilization of the egg.

"We are very pleased to announce Shoukhrat Mitalipov, PhD, who has been a friend and collaborator for many years, has agreed to be this year's Breaking News Lecturer on the important topic of correcting the germline in human embryos to prevent inheritable diseases," says Norbert Gleicher, MD, President of the Foundation of Reproductive Medicine, a not-for-profit research foundation, and Medical Director and Chief Scientist of the Center for Human Reproduction, a leading IVF center in New York City. "Though clinical applications of gene editing are still years away, and many regulatory hurdles will have to be overcome before any of that can happen in the United States, we applaud Prof. Mitalipov and his colleagues on this amazing achievement, which also created the perfect opportunity for our annual Breaking News Lecture."

The annual November conference, organized by the Foundation for Reproductive Medicine, focuses on paradigm-changing developments in reproductive biology, particularly those that can quickly translate into better clinical practice. The conference, which drew hundreds of physicians and basic scientists from all over the world in 2016, is expected to grow in attendance this year. Prof. Mitalipov will also participate in one of the Workshops preceding the Conference on November 15, 2017. Prof. Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte, PhD, Roger Guillemin Chair and Professor at the Gene Expression Laboratory of the Salk Institute for Biological studies, La Jolla and a collaborator and coauthor of the Nature paper, is also scheduled to speak at the conference.

About FRM
Foundation for Reproductive Medicine is a not-for-profit research foundation in New York City with an exclusive focus on supporting original research and postgraduate medical education in reproductive medicine. Dr. Gleicher is available for further comments.